In The Line of Fire
by LindsayBoxer
Summary: It was supposed to be as simple as getting a cup of coffee, but the morning turned out to be far from simple.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Women's Murder Club and my intention for writing this story is not intended to infringe upon any copyrights. I'm pissed that this show was canceled because I think it had tremendous potential...plus Angie Harmon is not hard to look at or listen to. :)

This story is a Lindsay/Cindy fic - nothing graphic - so you've been warned.

**IN THE LINE OF FIRE**

We walked down the front steps of the Hall towards the coffee vendor. I had my heart set on a large cup of dark roast, complete with a caffeine kick that I hoped would help me shake the sleepiness that consumed me. I spent most of the night working on a story and ended up with only a few hours of sleep.

"Two, one with cream and no sugar," Linsday dug into her pocket and handed the man a couple of bills.

"You're buying?" I asked, surprised.

She turned and smiled at me, making me light up inside, "Yeah. I think I owe you at least a coffee for sticking your neck out for us the other day when we needed a decoy." Extending her hand, she gave me my cup.

"Thank you. It's too bad that even though Jose is behind bars now it's never going to bring his baby back."

"Welcome to my world. No matter how much you fight for the victims they're still victims."

Before I could say another word my attention was snatched away by a black van roaring up the street. The two of us looked over at it because it was going way too fast for the busy area that was littered with people at this time of morning. It slowed slightly as it came closer. I saw the side door slide open and everything after that seemed to happen in a split second.

"Get down!" Lindsay yelled as she latched onto the sleeve of my jacket and yanked me behind her, pushing me down and reaching for her gun.

I fell to the ground as shots rang out from the van - I couldn't tell you how many because I was covering my head and praying that I wasn't going to get shot.

People were scrambling and screaming, trying to get out of the line of fire and the next thing I knew, Lindsay fell on top of me. The van zoomed away and I stretched my neck out to see if I could read the plate number. I knew something was wrong because Lindsay wasn't trying to get up. I put my arms around her middle and gasped as I felt warmth and wetness on my hands - my fears quickly confirmed. "Oh my God, Lindsay!" She began struggling for air and her chest was covered in blood. "Someone call an ambulance! Officer down!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Cin...can...can't...bre..." she mumbled as she grimaced in pain and coughed.

Her eyes were starting to close and it sent my heart into my throat. "Linds? Linds, can you hear me? Don't you dare die on me, Boxer! You hear me?!" My voice cracked with fear. I felt her blood on my chest, realizing a bullet must have gone through.

"Lindsay!" Claire yelled as she and Tom came running towards us - dozens of police officers in tow.

"What the hell happened?" Tom asked as he knelt down beside her, putting his gun back into the holster by his side.

"Someone just opened fire on her. Black van. No plates." I held onto her as tightly as I could, absently rocking.

Tom motioned over towards one of the detectives that was scanning the area, "Hey! Petersen, I want every single person within a ten block radius interviewed. I want to know who the hell did this. Tape this place off now! No one leaves the scene until we interview them and I don't care if it takes days."

"I'm on it."

Claire put her hands over mine, "Lemme see her, Cindy," she said softly, in a calm, motherly voice. I moved my hands away so she could look at her wound. "Her lung is punctured and most likely collapsed." She watched blood ooze from the corner of her mouth. "Dammit," she swore under her breath as she took note of the other wounds but had to ignore them for now. "Hang on, Lindsay. Just hang on, baby." Claire placed her hand over the wound in Lindsay's chest, doing her best to keep her emotions in check as Lindsay let out a pained moan. "Did anyone call an ambulance?!"

Fear grabbed hold of me as I realized someone may not have called them. But then I heard the siren in the distance, "Sounds like they're coming." All I could do was hold her and continuously kiss her forehead. I wished there was some chance this was all a bad dream. "Oh, Lindsay," I cried softly by her ear, kissing her temple.

Lindsay whimpered as her face contorted with pain - her eyelids fluttered a bit and she began to stir. "H-hrrts," she mumbled.

"Shhhh. Relax and stay still, sweetheart. Help is coming," Claire assured her. Then she shook her head and creased her brow, "She's been shot more than once, there's one in her shoulder. Can't tell if it went through and I don't want to move her. God. Who the hell did this?!"

"At least one went through, she's bleeding all over me," I said in a sob.

An ambulance tore up the street and came to a sudden stop up onto the sidewalk where Lindsay lay. Two paramedics climbed out of the back, "What've we got?" one asked her.

"Multiple gunshot wounds. At least one punctured her lung." Claire held onto Lindsay, afraid to leave her.

The two men went right to work, practically pushing me and Claire out of the way. They got a tube down her throat and secured her onto a gurney, then wasted no time in getting her into the back of the ambulance. I wanted to go with them but Claire pulled me towards her, shaking her head. All I could do was watch and it tore my heart out as they pulled away - leaving us standing there covered in Lindsay's blood.

_WWWWMMMMCCCC_

Hours passed and we waited anxiously in the waiting room for any word on Lindsay's condition. The situation was uncomfortable enough, but the stiff chairs, stale-colored walls and bad coffee only made the waiting excruciating.

Tom stood the majority of the time, not knowing quite what to do with himself. He hardly noticed he'd been pacing and then came to a stop in the same place for about ten minutes. His mind raced, it was evident by the look on his face.

"Lindsay Boxer," a doctor announced as he entered the small room. We all snapped our heads up in his direction. "She's out of surgery," he said as he sat down, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's in critical condition right now and in the I.C.U. She lost a lot of blood. She's got a total of five gunshot wounds: one to her left shoulder which did not go all the way through and lodged in her scapula, one to her left side that went all the way through and punctured and collapsed her lung - also broke two ribs, one to her right side just above her hip that went in and out clean, and two flesh wounds: one to her left forearm and her right thigh. Obviously the worst injury is to her lung so we've got her on a ventilator to help her breathe. We don't like to keep anyone on a ventilator for very long so we want to be able to remove her from it as soon as possible."

I felt Claire put her arms around me and squeeze. "Can we see her?" she asked softly.

"I can let one or two of you and that's all. They need to constantly check on her so they really don't like visitors to stay too long."

"Go," Claire said to me, "Tell her we're here for her." Claire's voice caught in her throat as she couldn't hold back the emotion any longer.

"Tom." I reached out my hand to him, intending to take him with me.

"No. You just go. I...I can't...really. Excuse me," he said as he bowed his head and excused himself from the room. Jill went after him.

I pressed my lips together as I held back the urge to completely break down.

The doctor stood up and led me down to the I.C.U. "She's got a chest tube and other tubes, wires and...well...I don't want it to scare you."

"It's okay," I said. I'd seen countless dead bodies, stab wounds, accident victims and God knows what else, but it's a whole different ball game when it's someone you know...and love.

I sucked in a deep breath before entering the room.

"Just a few minutes. I'll be right here outside."

I nodded and slowly entered. The immediate sight of Lindsay surrounded by all kinds of machines and a tube sticking out of her throat took my breath away. I felt my knees start to buckle but caught myself. "Oh God, Lindsay." The slow rise and fall of her chest and the hissing sound of the ventilator sent chills down my spine but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It was almost as if I couldn't believe it was really her.

Reaching over, I took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Don't leave me, Boxer. I haven't even had a chance to take you out on a real date. Hell...you'd probably say no anyway." I snuffed away the tears and ran the back of my hand gently down the side of her face. "Everyone's really worried about you, especially Tom." I squeezed her hand slightly. "Just so you know, I'm not leaving this place until you wake up so you better hurry up about it."

"Ma'am," the doctor whispered as he poked his head inside.

I nodded at him and then turned back to Lindsay. "He's kicking me out so I have to go. I'll be down the hall so have them come get me when you wake up. I promise I'm not leaving you." Leaning over, I kissed her on the forehead and then left the room without looking back because I would have completely fallen apart.

I got back to the waiting area and Claire wrapped me up in her arms. That's when I burst into tears and let it all go.

"Shhh, it's okay. She's strong, you know that," Claire reminded me.

"But she's...she's hurt so bad and there's nothing I can do for her. I was right beside her on those steps. Maybe if I'd..."

"Stop it," Claire interrupted me as she pulled away from our embrace. She waved a finger at me like a typical mother would do, "You are NOT going to blame yourself for any of this."

"She protected me, Claire. She pulled me behind her and pushed me down and all I did was sit there and watch her get shot."

"She's a cop and you're a reporter. She's trained to protect. You're not at fault here and don't think for a second that Lindsay would even suggest that you are either!"

"I just hate it! I hate it that she was lying in my arms, bleeding to death and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it!" I plunked down onto one of the chairs and put my head in my hands, sobbing.

"Cindy?" I heard Jill's voice call out as she knelt down beside me, rubbing her hand on my back. "Why don't you go home and get some rest. One of us will call you if there's any change."

"No," I said as I snapped my head up, "I'm not leaving here until she wakes up, I promised her."

"Will you at least let me take you home to get changed and then I'll bring you back?" Claire asked.

I looked down at myself and my jeans, jacket and blouse were stained with blood. It just made me cry even more.

"Come on." Claire and Jill helped me up and walked me out to the car.


	2. Chapter 2

Claire brought me back to the hospital and I had hoped that while I was gone, even in that short amount of time, Lindsay would have made a miraculous recovery. That wasn't the case and nothing had changed.

I got settled into the small waiting area that they provided for families who had loved ones in the I.C.U. I set my duffle bag on the floor and took out my laptop.

"You should get some rest," Claire said as she watched me unpack.

"I'm okay. Really."

She sat down next to me and put her hand on my leg, "You've just been through a traumatic experience, you're NOT okay. You need to cut yourself some slack and rest or you'll be no good to her when she wakes up."

I knew she was right, but that's something that Lindsay and I have in common...we'll never admit it. "I can't sleep," I said as I fiddled with the keys of the laptop, "I keep flashing back to what happened so I'm trying to keep my mind off of it."

Claire sighed heavily. "Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?"

"Nah. I'm okay. Honest."

"Okay." She stood up and glanced at her watch. "Call me if there's any change or if you need me."

"Definitely. Thank you." My eyes moistened and I couldn't help it.

Claire wrapped her arms around me, for what was probably the millionth time today. "She's going to be okay. She'll be telling us all what to do before you know it."

I laughed and wiped the tears away. "That's for sure."

"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come by around noon."

I nodded and smiled as I watched her leave the room. This was yet another example of how thankful that I was to be in this club.

_WWWWWWWMMMMMMMCCCCCCC_

I don't know when I dozed off but I awoke to someone touching my shoulder.

"Cindy?"

Looking up, I saw a doctor looking down at me. My mind immediately went into panic mode. "Oh God, it's Lindsay. Is she..."

"She's fine. It's okay. I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm Doctor Travers and I just wanted to let you know that she's awake if you'd like to go see her. She's asked to see you."

"Wait...she asked...I..."

"We've evaluated her ability to breathe on her own and she seems to be doing well, so we've taken her off the ventilator. She's sedated, however due to the amount of pain she's in."

I started to shake from excitement and nerves. She asked to see ME - not Claire, not Jill, not Tom...ME! "I um...what time is it?" I asked as I stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in my clothes.

"Almost eleven."

"Geez. I don't even remember falling asleep."

"Come with me and I'll take you to her. I wouldn't spend too long with her because she needs to rest, and try to keep her calm. It's painful for her to speak and breathe so she shouldn't do much talking."

We got to the room and he stepped aside. "I'll be at the nurse's station if you need me, there's a call button by her right hand."

"Thank you, doctor." I slowly walked into the room, hearing the beeping of her heart monitor and the buzz of other machines around her.

"Hey," I heard a soft, raspy voice say to me as I neared her bedside.

Hearing her voice my my heart slam against my ribcage. My hand flew over my mouth as I took her hand into my other one. "Linds," I squeaked as I started to cry.

"You okay?" she asked, looking me over for any sign of injury - even reaching over and tugging on the hem of my shirt. "You get hit?" Her voice was soft and sounded raspier than normal.

"No. No. I'm alright."

I saw relief wash over her face, "Good." Her eyes were only half open and even with all of the drugs running through her system she still looked like she was in pain.

I squeezed her hand and was thankful for feeling her squeeze back, however slightly. "You scared the shit out of me, you know."

"Srrrry," she mumbled softly.

"Just don't do it again, 'k because I honestly can't handle it." She smiled and her eyes rolled a bit. "Besides, I'm the one who should be asking if you're okay. Are you?" The question had a hint of hesitation attached to it because it would rip my heart out if she admitted that she was hurting - that's how I'd know it was bad.

"I'm good," She paused and swallowed hard, "Or as...as good as someone could...be who's been sh...shot five times." Her brown creased and he pulled her hand away from mine to place it over her left side.

"Okay, no more talking. I better go and let you rest."

"Stay," she said as she rolled her head to look at me. Those big brown eyes melted me.

"Then you have to promise to be quiet."

"Deal," she said as her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I spent the next few days checking up on Lindsay and actually trying to focus on doing my job, which wasn't easy. I'd start something and my mind would automatically wander back to her.

It was lunchtime so I went over to the hospital.

I plunked down my bag on a chair in her room. "Hey."

"Hey," she answered, but with a troubled look on her face as she gazed out the window.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just trying to remember anything about the van that can help them get a lead."

"Well don't stress about it. It'll come to you." I sat down on the bed beside her. "When did they take your chest tube out? This morning?" I asked, peering over at her left side and noticing it was gone.

It was as if she didn't even hear me. "There's got to be something. Tom said they pulled surveillance cameras from the area and they've got nothing to go on except it's a black 1989 Dodge van." She tried to sit up and grunted a bit, frustrated. "I'm so tired of lying here."

"Linds. You got shot, remember? Five days ago you were lying here hooked up to a ventilator. You're not invincible, ya know. Give yourself a break."

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

Just then, Tom entered the room. "Hi. How's our patient?"

"Stubborn as ever," I said.

Lindsay flashed me a frown. "Tom, did you see if Jose's posse happens to own a black van?"

"Already checked and no they don't. I don't think Jose has anything to do with this. Besides, you shouldn't be thinking about this, Linds. You should be resting and getting better. You want out of here, don't you?"

Lindsay sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. "Someone nearly killed me and I want to know who so excuse me for wanting to get involved. I'm useless lying here. I could at least go through some files or...something." Lindsay stopped and shut her eyes tightly as pain gripped her.

"See, this is exactly why you need to knock it off," I told her as I placed my hand over hers as she held onto her side. "Just relax. Calm down and breathe slow. Let Tom handle it."

"Yeah. Let ME handle it, Linds. You know I want the bastard just as much as you do."

"Okay. Okay." She rubbed her side and her brow creased.

"You want me to get the nurse to give you more p..."

"No! No more pain meds. It's bad enough I'm bored to shit but being a zombie, forget it!"

I held up my hands, "Alright. Just a suggestion."

Tom turned and smiled at me, "Well, it looks like you've got her under control. I just wanted to come by for a quick second. I'm on my way to a lunch meeting with the suits from IA."

"Sounds like fun," Lindsay said with heavy sarcasm.

"Make sure she rests," Tom said to me as he waved good-bye to Lindsay and walked out the door.

Lindsay shook her head. "I'm not a cripple, you know. I CAN help."

I sat down on the edge of bed next to her, "You're right, you're not a cripple but you're in no condition to be putting yourself through so much stress. You have to stop it. Please?" I flashed a doe-eyed look at her.

"How can I say no to that?"

"You can't and that's why I did it." I winked at her and smiled. She smiled back. "Now THAT is what makes everything all better."

"What?"

"Your smile. Those dimples in your cheeks." I got all flush.

"You're blushing, you know."

"Thanks. Thanks for pointing that out," I chuckled, somewhat embarrassed.

"Hey," she said, taking my hand, "I'm really glad you're safe. I don't know what I'd do if this situation were reversed."

I started to cry.

"Whoa. What's the matter?" she asked, rubbing my hand.

"Nothing. It's nothing," I said as I sucked up my tears and wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

"Cindy. Look at me. Talk to me."

I snuffed a few more tears away and squeezed her hand, "I...I was so scared, Linds. It all happened so fast."

"I know."

"You didn't think twice about protecting me and I can't help but feel like I should have done something. I..."

"There was nothing you could have done. We were standing about ten feet from the sidewalk, out in the open. There's not a damn thing you could have done. I make a lot of enemies in this business and unfortunately one of them got me."

Just hearing her say that made me ill. "I remember seeing your gun still in it's holster by your side when you fell on top of me. You didn't even have a chance to fight back."

She broke eye contact with me for a moment. "I remember falling on you."

I started to cry again, "There was so much blood and you couldn't breathe. I've never been so scared in my life."

"It's okay. I'M okay."

"You were hit five times. That's not okay." I placed my hand gently on her side where the bullet did the most damage. "I wish I could erase all of this. I wish it was me, instead."

"No. No. No. Don't wish that!" Her voice cracked and her eyes moistened, "That's why I pushed you down. I didn't want to see you hurt."

"So you're saying it's alright for you to take those bullets and not me?"

Lindsay gripped my hand tightly, "What I'm saying is I'm a cop and it's my job to protect. Whoever was gunning for me got their intended target."

"Claire said the same thing, that it's your job."

"It's especially my job to protect those that I love."

"What?" I asked, even though I heard her loud and clear.

"I love you, Cindy. And I will always protect you, even if it means taking a bullet."

I burst into tears and felt her pulling me towards her with her uninjured arm. Within seconds, she placed her lips over mine and I felt my entire body ignite. Our kiss was short but passionate and I couldn't remove the smile from my face. "I've wanted to do that for a while."

"Me too," she said with a devilish smile.

I looked at my watch, "I hate to kill this mood but I know you need your rest and I have to get back to the office before my boss freaks out on me."

"It's okay. Come by tonight?"

"You got it," I said as I dove in for a second kiss - one that was equally as good, if not better. I pulled away and stroked the side of her face, "See you later."

She smiled at me, bit her bottom lip and nodded - those beautiful dimples appearing on her cheeks.

I grabbed my bag and scooted out the door before I changed my mind and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, probably losing my job in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

When I returned to my office I found Tom, of all people, sitting by my desk. "Tom?"

"Hey, Cindy," he said as he stood up to greet me. "Listen, um...do you have somewhere we can talk?"

My mind raced with assumptions on what he wanted to talk about. "Sure, follow me." Was it about me and Lindsay? Did he see our connection? Was he here to tell me not to see her anymore?

We reached an empty conference room at the end of the hall and we both walked in. He shut the door behind me. "Sorry for just showing up on you, but I felt like I needed to let you know this face-to-face."

"What?" I asked as my stomach sank to my knees as I sat down.

"We've been chasing down a few leads from some of the witnesses at the scene and I got the lab results back from the bullet casings."

"I...I don't understand. I thought you didn't have anything."

"I couldn't tell Lindsay anything because she needs to keep her mind off this case and focus on getting better. Hell, she'd probably sneak out of the hospital to go out and interview witnesses."

I laughed because I could totally see her doing that. "So what's going on?"

"Well, you first have to promise me that everything I say stays in this room - so NOTHING gets splashed onto the front page. Understand?"

I held up my right hand, "You have my word."

Tom sucked in a breath and blew it out quickly. "The owner of the van is Adam Young."

I thought for sure my heart stopped and I immediately felt the color drain from my face. "Adam?"

"I believe you and Adam were once engaged, correct?"

"Oh God, yes. Um, about four years ago. But...but I thought..."

"He's been out of jail for about three months. He purchased a Glock 9mm from a pawn shop two months ago. Lindsay was shot with a 9mm."

My hands flew to my mouth and I thought for sure I was going to be sick.

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

I shook my head as tears started to roll down my cheeks. "No. I...I haven't seen or spoken to him since he went to jail."

"We need..."

"He threatened to kill me, you know."

"What?"

"Before I left him he threatened to kill me."

Tom ran his hand over his face.

"Tom...I...I don't think Lindsay was the target. I was." I stood up and ran out of the room, dashing down the hall to the ladies room and quickly heaving my guts out in the toilet. I stood there for a moment as my whole world became numb. Then I washed up, splashing handful after handful of cold water on my face.

A knock came at the door. "Cindy, you alright?"

"Yeah, I said as I dried my face with a paper towel and opened the door."

He put his arm around me and led me back to the conference room. "Look, we'll put a police detail at your place. And..."

"Then he won't try to get me."

"What?"

"He knows he didn't kill me, it was all over the news. I haven't been home since this happened because I've spent the majority of my time here or at the hospital, so he hasn't been able to try to finish the job. If I go home and lure him then..."

"No. No way."

"Tom, it's the only way."

"No. Let us handle it. I don't need you getting hurt too. I'll gather the guys up and see what we can put together. In the meantime, maybe staying at the hospital isn't a bad idea. I can make arrangements for you. That way I can keep the police detail on you and Lindsay. I'm gonna go speak to your boss, tell him what's going on and that you need to lay low for a bit."

I was too freaked out to object so I just nodded as I stood up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"I'll have a uniform come pick you up to go to your place to get some clothes."

"Okay," I said as I walked out to my desk in a haze.


	5. Chapter 5

I returned to the hospital around six and Lindsay was picking at some hospital food.

"You better eat it," I said.

"You couldn't pay me enough." She tossed the fork down and pushed it away.

I leaned over and gave her a kiss, happy to see her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she pulled away.

"Huh?"

"Something's wrong. I can tell."

"Nothing's wrong. Just had a long day is all."

"Cindy, don't lie to me. What's wrong."

I looked into those deep brown eyes and I started singing like a song bird. "Linds. I think the shooter was after me, not you."

"What? Wait. Back up. What makes you think..."

"Adam Young. He and I were engaged four years ago. I left him because he cheated on me, got into drugs, and started getting violent. He threatened to kill me after I left him."

"Cindy, why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Like it's something that I'd just bring up - oh, by the way, my ex-fiance used to hit me and threatened to kill me."

She rubbed my hand. "I'm sorry."

The tears tugged at me once again. "I'm the one that needs to be sorry. It's quite possible that you almost died because of me."

"Don't say that!"

"It's true! If he was aiming for me, you took MY bullets." Lindsay looked away from me, clearly uncomfortable and a little pained. "Tom probably doesn't want me telling you all of this."

"Where is this Adam guy?"

"I don't know."

Lindsay looked away from me, clearly agitated.

"Linds?"

"Can you give me some alone time while I stew on what you just told me?"

I couldn't believe she was kicking me out. "Um, yeah. Sure."

"Sorry, I just need some time to think."

"No need to explain," I said as I picked up my things. "I'll come by in the morning, 'k?"

She nodded and I just left.

_WWWWWWMMMMMMMCCCCCC_

I decided to give Lindsay a little more time to "think" so I didn't stop by until mid-afternoon. But when I reached her room I found it empty.

"Where'd she go?" I asked the officer sitting outside the door.

"Physical therapy, about an hour ago."

"Oh," I said, not remembering her mentioning anything about a therapy session. "I'll just hang out and wait for her then." I walked into the room and plunked down on the chair to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

As I stood up to stretch, two nurses scrambled into the room. "She's gone. See."

"I thought Lindsay was at physical therapy?" I asked them.

"She was. I left her alone for five minutes and when I came back she was gone."

"Dammit." I dug into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone, dialing as fast as my fingers could press the buttons. "Tom, it's Cindy. Listen, Lindsay took off. Yeah. She left the hospital a little while ago. Okay, I'll meet you out front."

"She's in no condition to be walking around," one of the nurses said. "How the hell did she make it out of here alone?"

"You apparently don't know Lindsay very well." I left the room and headed outside to meet up with Tom.

_WWWWWWMMMMMCCCCCC_

Our first stop was Lindsay's place. I'd hoped that we'd find her sitting there on the sofa after coming to her senses and changing her mind, but she wasn't there.

Tom went into Lindsay's room, putting his hand underneath the draw on the nightstand. "She's been here. Her back up is gone."

Her closet was open and clothes were strewn about. "She couldn't have gotten here from the hospital that quickly if she was walking, not with her injuries."

The two of us went back out to the car and Tom spotted Lindsay's neighbor across the street working in her yard. "Hi, Mrs. Murphy."

"Tom. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Did you happen to see Lindsay at all today?"

"As a matter of fact I did. She pulled up in a cab and went inside."

"Did you see her leave the house?"

"Uh huh. She came out and got back into the cab. Poor thing didn't look well. I'd heard she got shot - saw it on the news. Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Tom said, lying through his teeth. "Thanks for your help."

"Have her call me if she needs anything."

"I will. Bye now."

The two of us got back into Tom's car and headed back to the Hall.


	6. Chapter 6

When we got to the Hall, Tom had Jacobi get the phone records from the hospital to see which cab company Lindsay called.

I paced in Tom's office, trying to figure out where Adam could be but I honestly had no idea.

Jacobi appeared in the doorway with a handful of paper. "No luck on the phone records. She called Information and Information automatically connected her so there's no record of a direct call."

"Dammit," Tom hissed as he slammed his fist down on the desk. "Have them go through the records from Information and see where they connected her."

Jacobi shook his head, "I already asked them about that and they said it would take at LEAST a day to get that info. Something about having to sift through their servers, not to mention they wouldn't do it without a warrant."

Tom rubbed his jaw. "Okay. Okay. Think. Think. Who would she..."

Detective Doyle came skidding to a stop outside of Tom's office, "Lieutenant! We just got a report of gunshots fired down at the projects on Tyler Street. One report said Boxer was involved."

"Dammit!" Tom swore as we all rushed out of the room. I think my heart stopped, hit the floor and bounced back up into place - slamming around in my chest as I could only guess if Lindsay was okay.

_WWWWWMMMMMMMCCCCCC_

The ride felt like it took a lifetime. When we arrived there were numerous squad cars, unmarked cars and a few ambulances out front. A crowd had formed but there was barricade tape up to prevent them from getting too close.

I followed Tom as we walked into the building and were escorted to the third floor by a uniform at the scene.

We got to the apartment, the door was wide open and I could hear Adam yelling. "Fuck you! I'm NOT going back there!"

"Too late, asshole!" Lindsay's voice responded.

We went inside and Adam was face down on the floor - his arms handcuffed behind his back and his face severely beaten. Then my eyes darted over to Lindsay who was leaning up against the wall next to a shattered glass coffee table. "Oh geezus, Lindsay!" I gasped as I flew to her side. "You should sit. Why don't you sit?"

"Fancy meeting you here," she joked and then winced - holding her side. There was a cut below her right eye and it was already black and blue.

I looked around at all the glass, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. He kinda fell through the table." She smiled at me despite her pain.

I cupped her face and wiped the blood from her eye with my thumb, "What were you thinking leaving the hospital and coming here on your own?"

"I couldn't let him get away with it. He tried to kill me. Well, really you but..."

Tom walked over, placing his hands on his hips. "Lindsay, are you insane?"

"You know the answer to that, Tom."

"How did you find him? You were supposed to be in the hospital getting well, not solving cases from your bed." Tom was furious with her. To be honest, I wanted to slap her a few times myself.

"I called in a few favors."

"Who, Linds?"

"Tom, I can't tell you that. Besides, I didn't come here to kill him I just came here to beat the shit out of him a little bit and bring him in."

"But you're hurt! Do you not understand that? You almost DIED!"

Two paramedics came over with equipment and motioned for us to move away. "I'm fine," Lindsay protested as they attempted to check her.

"Lindsay, you need to get back to the hospital. Chain her to the gurney if you have to," I told them.

Lindsay glared at me and bit her bottom lip as they poked at her side.

"We'll take her in, she needs x-rays," one paramedic said as the other wiped the blood from her face.

I shook my head, angry at her for injuring herself further but also for putting her life on the line for me once again. "I'll ride with you to make sure she doesn't escape."

"Funny," Lindsay snapped at me.

_WWWWWWMMMMMCCCC_

**EPILOGUE:**

Lindsay was readmitted to the hospital, thanks to the little stunt she pulled. Some torn stitches and aggravating her healing ribs cost her four extra days. But she behaved herself and I was able to take her home.

Adam was convicted of attempted murder of a police officer, as well as a list of other charges. By the time he's back out on the streets he'll be ninety-one years old. Knowing he'll never put me or Lindsay in danger again still can't make up for the fact that he almost took her away from me.

T H E E N D

Author's Note: Sorry to rush the ending. I ran into a huge brick wall of writer's block towards the end, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless!


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